View clinical trials related to Labor Pain.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to see which dose of epidural neostigmine is the best additive to use with the numbing medication used in an epidural during labor.
Since 1999, labor pain control has being performed in China, and the initial time of analgesia is at the cervix >= 2 cm. Meanwhile, American Society of Obstetrics & Gynecology recommended that the labor analgesia with neuraxial block should be performed at the cervix >= 4 cm in 2002. After that, the threshold has been revised to at least >= 2 cm in 2006 by the Society. However, in China, the practice of labor analgesia with neuraxial block has being performed for over seven years. Up until now, the practice has being experienced during this ten-year period at the cervix around 1 cm. The investigators hypothesized that labor pain control in different stages had different characteristics and had different influence on patients short- and long-lasting outcomes. This study is mainly investigating different labor analgesia procedures in different stages since the initiation of the practice in 1999, and assessing their influence on the outcomes to display the trajectory of development of labor analgesia in China of which might fit to the the whole process of the study of labor analgesia throughout the world. All these were done by analyzing the data records since from January 1999 to December 2008.
In the setting of fetal demise it is important to help the mother deliver the fetus expeditiously and with as little physical trauma as possible. This study hypothesizes that application of capsaicin to the uterine cervix will enhance cervical ripening and desensitize pain fibers such that delivery is less painful.
The purposes of this study is to integrate the objective tests into the subjective test, visual analog score (VAS), for evaluation and further understanding of relieving labor pain by TENS application on acupuncture points in the first stage of labor.
It is unclear the effect of a spouse's presence on the partureint's and the spouse's stress level during the performance of epidural analgesia during labor. Couples will be randomized to two groups: one group where the spouse is present during the performance of epidural analgesia and the second where the spouse is not present. Before and after epidural anlgesia, both the spouse and parturient will be have their blood pressure and pulse checked. In addition, both will have their salivary amylase measured. Salivary amylase is an enzyme whic has been foud to correlate directly with stress levels. To check this enzyme, a sample of saliva is given.
Psychological care during labor is considered as an important supplemental procedure for alleviating delivering stress and pain. Although Doula has been recommending that should be given for parturients, its precise effect on nulliparous and multiparous women is still unknown. The investigators hypothesized that multiparas had experienced the process of labor, but the nulliparas were not, so Doula support would produce different effect on these two population.
Labor analgesia is an essential health caring procedure for women. However, epidural analgesia cannot be performed on all subjects for different contraindications, such as lower platelet counter, back infection at the puncture site, and fear of epidural injection etc. Therefore, intravenous analgesia is an alternative for such conditions. Given the influence of intravenous administration of drugs on fetus, the drug selection is very important. Remifentanil, a super-short efficacious opioid, can last for 3-4 minutes after injection, which is similar in both maternal and fetal environment. Thus the fetus-associated side effects would be less than other drugs. The investigators hypothesized that remifentanil would be a superior intravenous drug used with patient-controlled technique for labor analgesia.
Epidural analgesia is widely regarding as the most effective analgesic strategy for labor pain. Modern practice is to utilize dilute local anesthetics as a continuous infusion along with an opioid, e.g., our common "recipe" of 12 ml/hr of 0.0625% bupivacaine with 2 micrograms/ml fentanyl, after the initial dose to maintain patient comfort until delivery. This dose of the infusion often provides adequate comfort without interfering with the mobility of the patient and her ability to effectively push during delivery. However, this low dose epidural infusion strategy often results in recurrence of pain after an initial pain free period. This breakthrough pain is treated by administering small boluses of analgesics via the epidural catheter. The pain occurring in labor is initially of visceral origin and is mediated by pain fibers originating from the low thoracic and upper lumbar segments of the spinal cord. As labor progresses to the late first phase (also known as transitional stage), pain sensations originating from the distension of the pelvic floor, vagina and perineum adds a somatic component to labor pain. This type of breakthrough pain is often difficult to treat. Although requests from patients to alleviate late stage breakthrough pain are common, no one knows the most effective strategy for pain management in this stage of labor. This study is designed to compare the efficacy of two treatments for controlling late first stage breakthrough pain during labor with an epidural infusion in place: clonidine-bupivacaine versus fentanyl-bupivacaine. Women who have labor epidural analgesia in place will be enrolled to be randomized if and when they present with breakthrough pain in the late first stage or second stage of labor (≥ 8 cm dilated). They will receive 8 ml of a solution containing 10 mg bupivacaine and 75 micrograms of either fentanyl (an opioid or "narcotic") or clonidine (an "alpha-2 agonist known to be effective as an epidural analgesic). Pain relief, labor progress and outcome will be assessed to compare fentanyl versus clonidine. It is the hypothesis of this study that clonidine added to bupivacaine is a better analgesic than fentanyl added to bupivacaine for breakthrough pain in advanced labor.
Epidural analgesia in the early stage of labor at cervix < 4.0cm was considered as a risk period for increasing the rate of cesarean delivery. The more recent studies and the investigators' previous data indicated epidural analgesia can be performed as early as the cervical dilation approximately 2.0cm. The investigators hypothesized that different cervix diameter had different rate of cesarean delivery. This trial would investigate the correlation amongst different cervical dilation and the risk of cesarean section in nulliparous women at term.
Accumulating evidence indicated that neuraxial analgesia in the latent phase of the first stage of labor would be an effective and safe health care procedure for nulliparas. Doulas, women with labor experience trained for parturients, is a new way to alleviate the psychological stress from the laboring pain. Previous data in our study showed that doula accompany is a good method in shortening the progress of labor used in the active phrase of the first stage of labor, and decreasing the rate of cesarean delivery. Investigators hypothesized that doula combined neuraxial (epidural) analgesia in the latent phrase would be a superior means for effective pain relief, decreased rate of cesarean section, and shortened duration of labor.